Real Salt Lake

Tonight I went to my first professional soccer game to see the Real Salt Lake. It was fun and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t get all the rules, especially the fouls or yellow cards as they say but it was fast moving and kept my attention. I went with AMM, AJ and AJ’s brother (who was kind enough to explain some of the rules when I was confused). We won 3 to 1 against Houston. One thing that was interesting was that the time on the clock adds and is not a countdown. My favorite player, sorry do not remember name or number, was the one wearing the pink shoes. It says a lot about his soccer ability that he is man enough to wear pink. The only complaint I had was that the drums played the entire game with the same beat and I actually missed the corny music that bands play during college football games. All in all, I can’t wait to go to another game!

Strawberry Jam

I love homemade strawberry freezer jam. This past weekend my mom and I made three batches worth and after all the hours you stare at the end product and think, boy, I am going to have to ration that out to last until next spring when I can make more. In reality you can’t just have a freezer full of jam, pity. The reward after all the hard work is to spread the fresh warm jam over homemade scones. It is like heaven. Then again after seeing how much sugar it takes to make it, I can see why.

The New Doctor Who

This week I caught up on the three new episodes of Dr Who with the new Doctor played by Matt Smith. I love that over in Britain they air the new season or special episodes on big holidays like Christmas or Easter as this time being the case. In America we just have reruns because they don’t think we are going to sit down and watch TV on holidays. But if you are like me that is really the only time you can sit down and watch TV because you do not have to go to work. Sorry, I digress.

Now for my thoughts on the season opener:

I quite liked it. Surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did (though I really do miss David Tennant, sob).

What I really liked was the establishment of the Amelia Pond character (played by Karen Gillan) with the Doctor. That she knew him since a child. Brilliant! I also like that she is a strong female character. I never really liked Billie Piper. There I said it. I know; how can I like Tennant but not the love of his life? I keep digressing sorry.

The Tartis (that’s his time traveling space ship for those who have never seen the show) is pretty cool this time around. It’s still a police call box on the outside (let’s hope they never change that) but the inside they updated it to the new character. I liked how they antiqued it for the stuffy professor look the Doctor is now going for. I think it is cool how there are now passage ways in the ship so maybe we will see other rooms. Also I like their new Doctor Who logo. I would post a picture but that would require some thinking and I am not in the mind set for that right now.

The season trailer looks so intriguing and I am way excited that the “Weeping Angels” are coming back (see my last Dr Who post about the “Blink” episode being my favorite).

The only problem I am having is that I didn’t quite enjoy last night’s episode (#3). It didn’t hold me. It could be that I was distracted by the Doctors too short pants and cheesy bowtie but I think it comes down to that he doesn’t have a presence that says “Trust me I’m The Doctor.” His madness seems juvenile not funny like Tennant. But maybe I just need time to adjust. The theme it looks like for this season is “the crack” if you watch closely it is everywhere. So we will see as the season plays along how the new Doctor fits. Here’s hoping!

Clash of the Titans

I actually went and saw a remake. I believe stick with the classic and leave it at that. I will have to a write post just on remakes because I could go on and on that subject alone. But my father, sister and I decided to give it a try.

I love the classic Clash of the Titans (1981) starring Harry Hamlin. My favorite character is the tin owl (kudos to the new film for giving him a cameo appearance). Ray Harryhausen’s stop action special effects were amazing (sad that was his last film). That Medusa scared me as child. The Kraken is also way better than the new one as well. I liked how the old screenplay brought in the image of the Gods using humans has pieces on a game board. It looked like the new one was going to go that way but it was just in the background and not really used.

What I liked about the new film:

Sam Worthington. Though handsome, not pretty boy image. He made a perfect every man’s hero.

I really liked Liam Cunningham’s (I think that is his name) character and the humor he brought to the film. I’m a big believer in throwing in humor in action films.

The women in the film were strong and not “look at me and how pretty I am, so save me.”

My thoughts on the film:

The two animal hunters that joined the soldiers reminded me of “The Brownies” in Willow.

Fiennes and Neeson look like they really could be brothers with their facial features. At first I thought Neeson was playing both parts.

Who knew Fiennes could look ugly?

I was surprised to see Nicholas Hoult (About a Boy) all grown up and being a solider, who would have ever thought?

Why did they put the Gods in shiny armor? It looked ridiculous. They would have looked more threatening in togas.

Stop action is cooler than computer images.

What was with the Djini? They were creepy and seemed no way related to mythology or at least to my knowledge of it.


Though the film is based on the old film, as noted in the credits, the story line is different. What really remains the same is that Perseus has to get Medusa’s head to save the princess from the Kraken. Everything else in between is different. So you can still enjoy this film for entertainment value without guilt.

(Just a side note I watched the old classic this past summer on cable and there is nudity which I never saw growing up watching it on TV so be forewarn even though it says PG.)

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Wednesday night JR and I went to the Hale Center Theater in Orem to see the production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I read so many good things about it so I was looking forward to the production. I didn’t realize it was going to be a musical and I was a bit concerned how they were going to make it work but it did. I laughed so hard at one point my eyes were watering. The cast did an awesome job. My favorite actor was Natalie Wheeler. Her dead pan humor was perfect. Dave Tinney reminded me of a classic 40s film star and Brett Merritt’s energy had me rolling in my seat. All the supporting cast, production crew, etc. made it a wonderful evening out. If you get a chance catch it before it closes next week.

The only problem I had was that the guy seating next to me practically sat in my lap. Why do guys not understand you stay in the arm rest area? That includes your legs as well. Why would you want to be that close to a stranger anyways?

Happy Birthday James Garner

Happy 82nd Birthday to James Garner!

To celebrate his birthday let me recommend three must see films of his or least my three favorite films of his:

The Great Escape (1963)
Allied POWs plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.

My thoughts: This is one of my favorite war films and Garner’s character “The Scrounger” is brilliantly played.

Support Your Local Sheriff (1969)
McCullough is "passing through on my way to Australia" when he takes a job in a gold rush town. After a startling display of marksmanship he immediately arrests the youngest son of the evil landowner. A battle of hired guns begins as McCullough continues to tame the town and defeat the gunslingers with a combination of skill and wit.

My thoughts: Laugh out loud funny with so many memorable moments.

Murphy’s Romance (1985)
Emma is a divorced woman with a teen aged boy who moves into a small town and tries to make a go of a horse ranch. Murphey is the town druggist who steers business her way. Things are going along predictably until her ex husband shows up.

My thoughts: A different kind of romantic comedy that shows that love has no age.

Duke

You might well think that I would be talking about Mr. John Wayne himself being me, but I’m talking about the great men’s basketball team the Blue Devils out of North Carolina from Duke University. I have been a fan of Duke and have cheered for them each season during March Madness since Christian Laettner played for them. Remember him? He was the only college player in the 1992 Dream Team for the Olympics. Now that was a team and I could go on and on about the Dream Team but that is for another day. I am still a true BYU fan, but I have faced the facts that BYU will probably never make it to the final four (but then again look at Butler) and I have to cheer for someone. So last night I was very happy that Duke won over West Virginia. I think it was partially due to the sacrifice of my friend AJ that was willing to watch the game with me even though sports are not her thing (now that is a meaning of a true friend, to do things just because they know it will make you happy).

Tomorrow night I am sad that I have to work and miss the big game though in my heart I will be happy no matter who wins, because I am all about the Cinderella story especially since it is Butler.